It's GO TIME!

Oct. 13, 2011

• Purchase Iowa Men’s Basketball Tickets
• Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone app!
• Take the Hawkeyes With You: Iowa Podcasts
• Iowa and the Big Ten Network
• Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
• 24 Hawkeyes to Watch

IOWA CITY, Iowa — There’s a big football game scheduled for Saturday in Iowa City. There’s also a big basketball event.

Five hours before Kirk Ferentz’s Iowa Hawkeyes square off against Big Ten Conference Legends Division rival Northwestern inside historic Kinnick Stadium, Fran McCaffery is going to eschew the opportunity to stage his team’s first practice of the 2011-12 season inside the Hawkeyes’ new practice facility and, instead, assemble on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

McCaffery’s second UI men’s basketball team will take the floor at 1 p.m. for a quick display of their dunking skills and a short scrimmage before getting down to business. In addition to a sneak peek at the Hawkeyes, fans will have the opportunity to win a variety of prizes ranging from pairs of season tickets and a pair of tickets to the 2012 Big Ten Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis to a private tour of Iowa’s new facilities hosted by the head coach himself and a round of golf next spring or summer with a member of the UI coaching staff.

There’s also a chance to win pairs of tickets to all of Iowa’s home games including the Hawkeyes’ dates with Clemson in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, intrastate rival Drake, and all nine Big Ten home games including the 2012 league opener against Purdue.

Admission is free. The entertainment will begin at 12:30 p.m. with team introductions scheduled for 1 p.m. The Hawkeyes will also buy the first 2,000 fans in attendance lunch: Those fans will receive a free pork sandwich compliments of the Tama County Pork Producers, who will make a $2 donation to the Johnson County Crisis Center for each pork sandwich served.